Belinda Murrell: Bringing Australian History To Life | Page 61

INSPIRATION

THE BOOK BUDDIES
FEEDBACK
When The Locket of Dreams was still a draft
manuscript, it was sent to a group of young reviewers
called the Book Buddies to get their feedback. Here’s
what they said:
‘This was a fantastic read! It had great characters and
a twisted plot. I couldn’t wait to find out the ending. As
I read on it became more and more interesting . . . the
book drew me in to a point where it felt like I was in the
story!’ Liana, age 10

All that’s left of the Mackenzie heritage is this locket, which Belinda’s daughter Emily wore
for the launch of The Locket of Dreams.

ABOUT THE LOCKET
OF DREAMS
A magical timeslip adventure
set in Scotland of the 1850s
and present-day Sydney.
Sophie discovers a golden
locket in an old treasure box that
belonged to her grandmother’s
grandmother. When she falls
asleep wearing the locket, she
magically travels back in time to
1858 to learn the truth about the
mysterious Charlotte Mackenzie.
Daughter of a wealthy Scottish laird, Charlotte and her
sister Nell live a wonderful life with their parents and
animals, on a misty island with its own ruined castle.
Then disaster strikes and it seems the girls will lose
everything they love. Why were Charlotte and Nell
sent halfway around the world to live with strangers?
Did their wicked uncle steal their inheritance? What
happened to the priceless sapphire – the Star of
Serendib?
With the magic of the golden locket, Sophie begins to
unravel the mysteries as she shares the adventures of
Charlotte and Nell – outwitting their greedy relatives,
escaping murderous bushrangers, and fighting storm
and fire. But how will her travels in time affect Sophie’s
own life?

‘I wish that what happened to Sophie could happen to
me one day. My favourite part was when they got sent to
Australia and got away from their aunt and uncle. Overall
it was great!’ Phoebe, age 10

To find out more about the Book
Buddies program, visit randomhouse.
com.au/book-buddies

Indigenous culture

In this book, I really wanted to make a tribute to acknowledge
how much early European settlers learnt from the local
Aborigines and to recognise the importance of storytelling
tradition in both Scottish and Aboriginal cultures.
While the Daveys told us many traditional stories about
stingrays, turtles, whales and the creation serpent, the story Pot
tells here is not from the Davey family – it is my interpretation
of a story we heard in various forms in different parts of
Australia. So I would like to thank the whole Davey family
for welcoming us to their land and teaching us so much –
particularly Frank, Maureen, Ashley and Pot, for letting me use
his name in my story.

A thank you

Many thanks to Looloo for lending me lots of wonderful history
books for my research, especially The Letters of Rachel
Henning – letters from an English woman who emigrated
to Australia during the 1850s. Her detailed letters gave me
much historical information about the lives of women and
children during this period.
To Mum who, among many things, makes the best Scotch
marmalade in the world, and to Dad. This book is rich with so
many experiences and gifts you have both given me.
Finally I would like to thank my whole family, particularly my
daughter Emily and my husband Rob, who are always the first
readers of my books.

randomhouse.com.au/teachers 61